Friday, July 24, 2009

Since i've been dealing with some work related stress recently I had decided earlier on during my vacation to make a trip to one of the well known Ayurvedic wellness centers in the city. As some of you know, my shoulder acts up sometimes so I needed to get that checked out too.

View from my room

I went to Vasudeva Vilasom for a check-up and consultation on my condition... as most doctors have said to me in the past " You need to lose some weight" !!. Alright alright, old news. After all, I'm a Mallu in the Gulf.. I'm bound to gain weight whether I like it or not. Ok now onto the oily slimy details.

Many of my friends get an instant hard-on when the phrase "full body massage" is mentioned, well I have one thing to say to my buddies..."go to Thailand" coz you wont be getting any oiled-up, sexed-up, limber asian girls to massage every nook and crany of your disgusting body. Instead you get an a 5 1/2 foot tall dark muscular guy with hands of steel that can turn your body into a pile of mush in minutes.

For those of you not yet initiated into the world of Ayurvedic Rejuvination here are the steps involved.

1. Strip buck naked and wear a 'loin cloth' also affectionately called an Indian Tie by some people.

2. Lay down on a solid wooden bed called an Enna Thonni (Oil Boat). I found out that this wood is treated by oil and herbs to impart its goodness onto the client, ie yours truly.

Massage bed

The massage is split into 4 sectionsa) The special oil is heated to a specific temperature and then slapped all over you as you turn over to your right, left and face downb) now here comes the hard part, your personal massuer then works his magic by twisting, wringing, squeezing and massaging all the stress points in your body. At first it may be a little hard to handle but feels really good at the end.c)He then runs steam all over your body while gently massaging it so that all the pores open up and absorb the 'goodness'. The water used to create the steam contains Eucalytpus leaves, Neem leaves among other herbs.d)Another oil is used for your head and face, he firmly rubs each part of your skull and you end feeling like you've just had brain surgery!

3. While all this is going on, your bath has been prepared in the ajoining bathroom where the following greets you; hot water, Payaru Podi(exfoliant/body scrubbing paste), shampoo and herbal soap. They are willing to bathe you as well but I just asked him to scrub my back.

Imagine doing this over a period of three days and you'll know what its like to have a new body.The generic Rejuvenation massage is 600 Rs per session and varies if you add other extras.

KF Blue is apparently a new beer that is stronger in alcohol content. I understand it ain't doing too great, not sure why... ..one or two bottle's of the Blue does what normally would take two pitchers of the regular KF to do..